78: Memorial

"Dear nephew, won't it be too much trouble for you to arrange jobs for so many people this time?" the eldest uncle asked, his voice a mix of excitement and concern upon hearing Qin Yang's promise.

Qin Yang felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing his uncle's question. This was true family; he clearly wanted his children nearby, yet he feared causing Qin Yang any inconvenience and put Qin Yang's interests first. He wasn't like those relatives who only cared about themselves and disregarded the feelings of others.

Qin Yang then said, "It's fine, Uncle. If I promised it, it means I can do it. By the way, my cousins are at the age to get married; haven't you been pressuring them?"

"Ah! Yang Zi, you're still as mischievous as ever!" The eldest and second cousins immediately erupted upon hearing this. They were both older than Qin Yang, one by two years and the other by three. In the countryside, they were long past marriageable age, but due to financial issues, they hadn't married yet. Primarily, it was because they were filial and didn't want to bankrupt their already struggling family for a wedding.

"Haha, Uncle, feel free to start introducing potential partners to them. They just need to work with me for one year, and I guarantee all financial problems will be solved." Qin Yang ignored his cousins' animated protestations and spoke with a smile.

"Good, good, good! Dear nephew, you must have a few extra drinks with your uncle later!" Hearing this, the eldest uncle was naturally deeply comforted. However, he couldn't bring himself to say words of thanks to a junior; the offer to drink more meant all his gratitude was in the wine.

The group chatted for a while longer until one of Qin Yang's older female cousins suggested playing Mahjong. Thus, a few of them gathered at a table to play, passing the time and strengthening their bonds.

Inside the house, when Qin Yang's various aunts learned he was arranging jobs for their children, their attitude toward Mother Qin became even more enthusiastic. The concept of a mother's status rising with her son's success was perfectly exemplified in that moment.

Happy times are always fleeting, and the Mid-Autumn Festival, a holiday for reunions, passed quietly amidst everyone's laughter.

After staying at his grandmother's house for one night, Qin Yang woke up early the next morning with Qin Yue and Deng Yue. Since they had returned for a visit, they had to go pay their respects to the deceased Qin father.

Qin Yang still had some memories of his father. In his memory, when his old man was alive, he always liked to tease him, buy him delicious food, and let him ride on his shoulders to walk around. In short, Qin Yang could clearly feel his father's love for him.

As for Qin Yue, she was too young when their father passed away and had no real memories. Her image of her father was formed in her mind through Mother Qin's verbal descriptions. However, if their father were still alive, he would have surely doted on Qin Yue like a little princess as well.

This time, Qin Yang didn't let his mother come along, fearing she would be overcome with emotion, which wouldn't be good for her health.

The bond between Qin Yang's parents had been very deep. Over all these years, Mother Qin had never remarried. Firstly, she feared a stepfather would mistreat her children, and secondly, because of their father. Mother Qin once said she would likely never meet another man in her life who treated her as well as he did, which showed the depth of their relationship.

After buying a pile of offerings and spirit money at the village convenience store, the three of them took the car toward Qin Village.

The place where the father was buried was on the back mountain of Qin Village. The formation of Qin Village was similar to Meng Family Village, both being settlements composed of people with the same surname. It wasn't far from Meng Family Village, about a ten-minute drive.

Technically, the people living in Qin Village were the blood relatives of Qin Yang and Qin Yue. However, given what Qin Yang's eldest uncle had done and the indifference shown by his grandparents over the years, both Qin Yang and Qin Yue felt nothing but disgust for that side of the family. If it weren't to pay respects to their father, they probably wouldn't have set foot there again for the rest of their lives.

The car drove slowly and soon reached the boundaries of Qin Village. To get to the back mountain, they had to pass through the main road of Qin Village. Qin Yang vaguely remembered that the homes of his grandparents and several uncles were located on either side of the main road. Qin Yang didn't want any interaction with them, so he ordered Wang Chao to drive directly toward the back mountain.

However, because the back mountain contained the ancestral graves of the Qin Village people, there were guards there year-round. Consequently, Qin Yang's motorcade was stopped on the road leading to the back mountain.

"Where are you from? What are you doing here?" The one who stopped the motorcade was a scrawny little old man who asked with a frown.

Qin Yang rolled down the window and said, "Old man, we've come to visit the graves."

"Visit the graves? Whose family?"

"I am Qin Xingyou's son. I've brought my sister to visit his grave," Qin Yang replied again.

"Qin Xingyou? Oh, you're the descendant of the third son from the second branch," the scrawny old man said, a look of realization dawning on him after thinking for a moment.

"Correct."

"Alright, then go ahead." Having identified them, the scrawny old man didn't make things difficult for Qin Yang and briskly let them through.

Watching the motorcade drive off, the scrawny old man put his hands behind his back and walked toward a small snack shop on the main road.

"Uncle!"

"Grandpa!"

Along the way, people continuously greeted the scrawny old man.

The old man nodded in acknowledgment.

Suddenly, someone asked, "Grandpa, a motorcade seemed to go to the back mountain just now. Did you see it?"

"I saw it. It was Qin Xingyou's children coming to visit the grave," the scrawny old man replied casually.

"Ah? Qin Xingyou! The children of the third son from the second branch?"

"Yes!"

"Tsk tsk, I never expected that Qin Xingyou would have such a successful pair of children!" the person who asked remarked in wonder.

"How do you know those kids are successful?" the scrawny old man suddenly asked with interest.

"How could I not? They arrived in a Mercedes-Benz, and there was another car following behind it that looked very expensive too."

"Are those two cars very expensive?"

"Grandpa, a Mercedes is a luxury car; it's got to be worth at least a million, right?!

Eh? Wait, those kids are back, so why didn't they go to the second branch's side first? No, I have to go ask. In case I can get some benefit—we're all close relatives within five generations, after all." The person who asked suddenly thought of something, greeted the scrawny old man, and hurried toward the home of Qin Yang's grandfather.

The scrawny old man shook his head at those words and continued toward the snack shop... Because the road was difficult to traverse, Wang Chao parked the cars at the foot of the mountain. Qin Yang and the others carried their things and, relying on memory, found Qin Father's tombstone.

The area around the grave was a bit messy; it looked like no one had visited for a long time.

Qin Yang wasn't surprised. He rolled up his sleeves and began to tidy up, while instructing Qin Yue to set out the offerings.

A few minutes later, after finishing the cleanup, Qin Yang, his sister, and Deng Yue burned some spirit money for Qin Father. He murmured to his father about their lives over the past few years and then respectfully kowtowed three times, concluding this grave-visiting trip.

After coming down the mountain, Qin Yang originally intended to return the way they came. Unexpectedly, as soon as they reached the main road, he saw a group of people blocking the middle of the path. Qin Yang looked closely—who else could it be but his grandparents and uncles!